


We've Got a Problem

by VeraLight



Category: Original Work
Genre: Asexual Character, Bisexual Male Character, Brokeness, Callum - Freeform, Debbie - Freeform, Gen, M/M, Magic, Parallel Universe, Raed, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-06-23 21:27:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19709785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeraLight/pseuds/VeraLight
Summary: Callum just wanted to keep himself from getting evicted. He didn't sign up for all the rest of this. That said, magic is cool as hell.





	1. Keep It Together

There was a hum through the Earth all that day. Callum could feel it beneath his feet, surging in his bloodstream, and beating behind his eyes. Of course, that hum had absolutely nothing to do with the end of the world; it was merely a side effect of Callum’s nervous disposition and extended state of dehydration. Later on, he’ll swear that he _knew_ the world was ending from the moment he woke up that morning.

“Callum, you’re short,” his landlord said. Black spots were clouding Callum’s vision. He hasn’t slept much lately.

“What?”

“I said, you’re short,” his landlord held up the crumpled bills Callum had given him. “This isn’t enough to cover this month and last.”

“Well, I thought I could give you last month’s now and then this month’s… I dunno, next week?” Callum gave his landlord a pathetic little smile.

The landlord shook his head, “No, Callum, not again. I know you’re going through a rough patch right now, but I can’t keep letting you do this. You have to pay or, well, I’ll have to evict you.”

“No, John, come on,” Callum checked his pockets. He didn’t even have a penny. “Please, I’m good for it. Just-,”

“You have until tomorrow,” John gave him a sad look and turned away from Callum’s door. Callum watched him go down the hallway in the dim light before he slammed the door and started pacing around the living room.

“Shit shit shit,” Callum snarled, “I can’t-.” He flopped onto the only piece of furniture he owned, an old couch, dipped down from use and moldy because he found it abandoned on the street and it had rained the day before. He tossed his feet over the arm of the couch with a sigh. Callum stared at the ceiling without a single thought bumping in his head, until one did. He pulled out his cellphone and punched in the only number he knew by heart. The call was answered immediately. “Hey, Manny.”

“What do you want Callum?” He sounded tired and far away.

“I, um, I need some help,”

There was a sigh, some rustling and then Manny’s voice came back clearer, “I don’t know if I can help you right now Callum. I’m going through some things.”

“Oh, uh, is everything alright?”

“No.” Silence.

“Well what happened?”

“I don’t have the time to explain it to you; basically, I just can’t deal with your shit right now, okay?”

“Oh, uh, alright,” Callum swallowed a few times. “Um, never mind then sorry for bothering you.”

There was another sigh, “Callum-,” but Callum hung up and tossed his phone aside.

“Great,” Callum stood up, “That’s great. Thanks big brother. Sorry for being such a fucking problem,” He kicked the couch. It hurt his foot, but it felt good. He started punching the cushions and that felt even better. He let out a little scream. “It’s no big deal; I’m probably just going to end up homeless by the end of the week.” He smacked the already flattened pillows with several more pitiful slaps of his fist. Suddenly, his vision clouded over with darkness and he swayed dangerously. He steadied himself on the back of the couch and panted for a few minutes.

When he came back to himself, he flushed red thinking of his tantrum. “How old am I again?” With that out of the way, however, his mind was a little clearer. He put on his jacket and stuffed his phone back into his pocket. It’s time to problem-solve.

Callum left his apartment building with purpose, but when he made it to Debbie’s front door, he was suddenly less confident. He wondered if she would treat him as a pest too. He snickered at the idea of her coming to the door with a can of raid and he gathered the courage to knock on the door. Before he could even do so, the door swung open.

“Hey Callum,” Debbie said, “Come in,”

“Thanks Debbie.” He followed her through the foyer into the living room. As usual, Callum was struck with awe by the high ceilings and extravagant décor. Debbie perched on her not at all slumping couch and motioned for him to take the equally firm, yet comfortable chair across from her.

“So,” Debbie started, “Why are you hanging out on my porch? Money problems?”

Callum nodded, he always loved how quickly she got to the point, but right now he wished she would do the polite thing. Offer a snack, maybe. “Something like that.”

“You know I’m not in the practice of giving out handouts,” she smiled as she said so.

“I know, Debbie, that’s not what I wanted to ask. I, I need a job.”

Her face got serious, “Oh, that’s a big step. Are you ready for that?”

Callum shrugged, “I kind of have to be. I can’t keep laying around,” he looked down, “I’m gonna get evicted.”

“Shit. You know I don’t want that to happen. But maybe it’s too early to go back to work. You haven’t given yourself time to recover-,”

“From my psychotic break?”

She scoffed, “If you want to call it that. What happened to your savings?”

“They weren’t as steep as I thought.”

Debbie tilted her head, “Did you spend it on alcohol? Weed? Or maybe you graduated to meth nowadays?” Her voice had a harsh edge which made Callum dip his head down.

“I’m sober. I don’t drink or smoke or anything anymore,” Callum said, “I just… well.”

“Well?”

“I kinda had another mental break.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I gave most of my savings away to someone. More specifically, a stranger.”

Debbie’s jaw dropped, “Callum! Are you a fucking idiot? You needed that money!”

“Yeah, I know I did. And I _do_ feel like such an idiot now, but, one day I was walking into my bank and there was this homeless guy there; right in front of it,” Callum wiped a hand over his face, “He was just staring at me, but I suddenly felt like-.” Callum cut himself off.

“Felt like what?”

“Like I didn’t need my money anymore.”

“As in…?”

“As in, I had decided I hated living and feeling so controlled by money and expectations,” Callum looked to Debbie imploringly, “I wanted to let it go.”

Debbie looked as though she was struggling to avoid rolling her eyes. She just nodded patiently instead. “Okay, you wanted to be…” she tried to suppress her snort, but she didn’t really succeed, “ _free_.”

Callum’s face warmed, “I know it’s stupid, shut up.”

Debbie shook her head, becoming serious again, “It’s not stupid. Clearly you weren’t in the state to be making financial decisions, that’s all.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry, I should have checked up on you more.”

“No, I get it, you’re busy,” Callum shook his head, “This is on me.”

Debbie hummed, “Either way, it’s done now, no point in marinating further, it’s time to grill.”

Callum chuckled, “Okay, what did you have in mind?”

“As far as a job goes, I don’t have anything for you, _but_ I know who you should call.”

“Who?”

“Duncan.”

“I haven’t talked to Duncan since we graduated.”

“I know, but I’ve kept in touch with him and he seems to be doing well. He still remembers you fondly, too. Look, I’ll give you his number and then you can give him a call.” Debbie stood up, apparently deciding the visit was over. She led Callum to the front door.

“Okay, I’ll try it.” Callum stepped through the doorway and turned to give her a rare legitimate smile.

“If not that, we’ll think of something else. Don’t forget, I’m still your friend, I’m on your side.”

“Thanks Debbie. I needed that.”

She gave him a quick nod, she wasn’t one for hugs. “And call your brother too, won’t you?”

“Manny couldn’t help.” Callum left it at that, and Debbie didn’t bother to argue.


	2. A Job Offer

Callum sat curled into the corner of his couch with a plate of plain white rice. He stared at his phone while he ate, and he couldn’t seem to work up the courage to make the call. Duncan would think he was a deadbeat. Well, he was, but he didn’t want people to think that.

A text appeared on the screen from Debbie: _just call him_. Callum smiled at the message. She knew him too well. So Callum did the smart thing; he listened to Debbie.

The phone was ringing, on speaker, and Callum inched towards it. He spooned some rice into his mouth just as Duncan picked up.

“Hello?” Callum spat the mouthful of rice back onto the plate.

“Oh hey, Duncan, it’s Callum. I don’t know if you remember me-,” Callum tried to sound as put together as possible, and not at all like he was sitting in a furniture-less apartment on the verge of being evicted.

“I remember you, of course. Debbie told me you were gonna call.”

“Oh, she did?” Thank god for Debbie.

“Yeah, she told me you needed a job.”

“Yeah, I do, I really do,” Callum winced at the desperation he heard in his own voice.

There was a silence on Duncan’s end, then, “I don’t know if I can do that.”

“Oh.”

“But, I really like you Callum.”

“I like you too,” Callum winced again.

“So I want to help you. There might be something you can do.”

“What’s that?”

“I think it would be better if we met in person. Look, I’m actually in town right now. How about I text you the address and we meet tomorrow at noon.” 

“ _Yes_ , yes, that would be perfect. Thank you, Duncan.”

“It’s no problem, Callum. And remember,”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be late.” Duncan hung up. Callum jumped from the couch, bland meal forgotten. He had to figure out what to wear, brush his teeth, brush his hair, shave, and do lord knows what else to look presentable. Shit. He had a lot of work to do from then until the next afternoon.

Callum arrived at the coffee shop dressed in his best fitting slacks and a freshly ironed button-down shirt. Duncan took one look at him and laughed. “You look like you got dressed up for picture day,” he said.

Callum laughed along, noting Duncan’s expensive looking suit and watch. “I wanted to be presentable.”

Duncan snorted, but said no more on the subject. “I know you’ve fallen on hard times. Heard about your,” Duncan hummed, “break. What is motivating you to start working again right now?”

“Same as everyone else, I guess. Rent,” Callum had decided that telling the truth would serve him best. Duncan had always had a nose for bullshit.

Duncan nodded, “Right, but what are you working _for_? What’s your goal? Ambition?”

“I don’t know that I have any right now. I just want to work hard at whatever job I can.”

“Of course.” Duncan looked Callum up and down, “I think you might be a good fit for what I had in mind. If you accepted the position, you would need to start immediately.”

“Um, what _is_ the position?”

“Delivery,” Duncan said. “You’d be making deliveries.”

“Deliveries?”

“Yes. You would have other duties, but for now delivery would be your main task. You’d also be moving into an apartment shared with one of our more senior employees. He’ll serve as your partner.”

“Duncan, I don’t want to offend you, but-,”

“Please, go right ahead.”

“This seems a little, um-,”

“Shady?”

Callum smiled, and it felt stretched over his face, “Yeah, sorry.”

“No, it’s fine, I understand. Listen, Callum, our business is legitimate, but it requires the utmost discretion. You would have to sign a Non-Disclosure agreement before I could even tell you anything more important than the salary.”

“About that…”

“50,000.”

“A year?”

Duncan grinned smugly, “A month.”

Callum shook his head, “There is nothing legitimate about that. What are you trying to make me deliver?”

“It’s not so much what you’re delivering but more to _whom_ and _how_.”

“What does that mean?” Duncan said nothing; he just slid a document over the table. Of course, it was the NDA. “I’m supposed to just sign this without knowing anything?”

“Yes, you are. The important things are: the pay is good and it’s legal. It’s not an easy job, as you’ll soon find out. But I think it will give you what you need.” Duncan looked sincere enough.

Callum read through the document carefully and, finding nothing off about it, he signed at the bottom. “What now?” He looked up to see Duncan’s wicked grin.

“We’ll move you in,” Duncan stood up and went to the back of the coffee shop. Callum hurried to follow. Through the double swinging doors, there was a store room. Duncan lead him through the shelves with sure, even steps until they reached another door. This one was bizarre, it seemed to be made of metal and it was completely smooth and matte. Instead of a door knob, there was a thin cylinder with a key pad on it. Duncan swiftly typed in a few numbers (2-4-5-3-8-6-9, Callum noted) and he flipped the cap of the cylinder open. Inside there was a thin spoke and nothing else. Duncan slipped some sort of circular key card onto the spoke and closed the cap. There was a whirring sound and after a moment, the cap popped open on its own. Duncan took the card and the door swung open.

Callum hardly had time to really digest what had happened when Duncan lead him up a set of narrow stairs that immediately followed the door. The stairs were set in a thin hallway which seemed to close in the longer they were passing through it. At the top, however, the space opened up again into a large, bright living room.

“Welcome to your apartment,” Duncan said as they arrived at the landing.

“This is weird, right?”

“Very,” Duncan grinned, “Here, I’ll introduce you to your roommate. Raed, this is Callum.”

A head popped up from the couch. A man a few years older than Callum stood from the couch and walked to them. He was tall, broad shouldered, and he had a stern glint to his eye. He was also covered in tattoos. Callum couldn’t help but to straighten up next to him. His own 5’11 frame was nothing to scoff at, but Raed still towered over him.

“Nice to meet you,” Raed said. Even his voice was deep and intimidating.

“Nice to meet you too,” Callum responded. He was trying to sound casual, but the calculating shine in Raed’s eye made him nervous.

Raed turned to Duncan questioningly, “He’s the new recruit you were talking about?”

“No, the other guy fell through,” Duncan said, “but I’m sure you’ll get along great with Callum.”

Raed snorted, “Harmony is not really my greatest concern right now. I need someone who can watch my _back_ -,”

“I can do that,” Callum said, “I’m capable.” He stopped because he wasn’t sure what else to say. He didn’t actually know what the job was. Would it be inappropriate to mention his skill in a fight? Probably. Especially ‘cause he had none.

Raed looked Callum over, “Maybe,” he said. “Do you even know what you’re going to be doing?”

“No, but I’m a quick enough learner.”

“There won’t be time to learn. You’re going to have to adapt.”

“I can do that too.”

Raed looked back at Duncan, who only gave him a helpless shrug. “Well there ya go,” Duncan said, “I’ll let you two get to know each other. Raed, your job got pushed up to 3 today. I’m counting on you to show Callum the ropes.” This was said as Duncan was walking away, so they could hardly hear his last words.

“Come on,” Raed led Callum through the living room, and to the left down a short hallway with only three doors. “My room,” he pointed to the first door, “bathroom, and your room,” he looked at Callum. “Any questions?”

“What about all my stuff?”

“Mr. Williams probably had it collected,” It took Callum a minute to realize that he meant Duncan, “It’ll be here by the time we’re done with the job.”

“Right, and, what is this job?”

“Delivery,” Raed said. At Callum’s uneasy expression, Raed added, “Look, don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to. It’s honestly easier to show you most of it. All you need to realize is that it’s dangerous. Don’t wear clothes you’re afraid to sweat in.” He looked at Callum’s outfit. “I’ll lend you something when it’s time.” With that, Raed went into his room. Callum heard the click of the door locking.

“Okay then.” Callum decided to take a look around.


	3. A New World

As it turned out, there wasn’t much to the apartment, other than the bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen, there was a small office/library and what looked to be a personal gym. At some point during the self-directed tour, Callum’s belongings had been delivered, left in the living room. Weirdly, he neither saw nor heard anyone that could have brought his things. He swiftly changed into more comfortable clothes. Ragged cargo shorts and a plain black t-shirt seemed more suitable for whatever the day had in store.

At precisely 2:30, Raed emerged from his room and looked at Callum sitting on the couch doing absolutely nothing. “Good, you’re dressed. Let’s go.”

Callum stood up, “Yeah, let’s do it.”

Raed didn’t go down the stairs Callum had come up from, however. No, he went to the window. And when he opened it, the cheery midday sunlight disappeared and behind the window was some sort of room. When Callum crawled into the room beside him, he realized that it was an elevator. There was another one of those cylinder things which Raed fitted with his own circular key card similar to Duncan’s. As soon as the key card was “accepted”, the elevator went down.

“This is actually fucking cool,” Callum said.

Raed titled his head side to side, cracking his neck, “We’ll see how you feel in a month.” As the elevator doors opened Raed muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘if you live that long’, and Callum didn’t have the guts to ask him to repeat himself. Well, that and he was distracted by what was actually outside of the elevator.

Nothing.

It was an empty room, and Callum was suddenly sure that everything had been some bizarre plot to scam him somehow and then kill him. Luckily, the idea was fleeing. Raed was walking around the room, tracing the wall with his fingertips and muttering to himself.

“What are you doing?”

Raed looked back at Callum, “You need to listen now.”

“Okay, what’s up?”

“You have to stick right next to me and pay attention. While I’m making the transaction, stay silent. Got it?”

“Okay.” Callum was tired of all the secrecy bullshit now. It was cool at first but now it was just irritating.

Raed ran his fingers down the wall and whispered something. Nothing happened. Raed turned and went back to the elevator. Callum followed without complaint. Raed brought them back up and he went back through the window into the living room.

When they had set their feet onto the carpet again, Callum turned to Raed. “So…?”

“Quiet. We’re going to go downstairs. Don’t say anything to anyone.”

“What’s happening?”

Raed sighed, “Listen, there won’t be any time for you to ask questions, and you won’t believe me even if I tried to explain it. It’s better for you to witness it firsthand.”

“Witness what?”

“What did I just say.”

“I know you think I won’t believe you, but could you at least tell me something? So I can confirm it later?”

Raed paused on his way to the stairs and turned back to Callum, “Alright, it’s simple. Right now we are in another world mirroring ours.”

“You’re right, I do find that hard to believe. What do you mean by this world ‘mirroring’ ours?”

“It’s similar to our world in most ways, but there are events and phenomenon that didn’t happen or don’t exist in ours.”

“Such as?”

“Magic exists here.”

“Magic,” Callum deadpanned.

“Yes. Of course, it’s not exactly as mysterious as you might think. It is actually the result of a particular type of energy being expended. This energy is part of every living thing. Thus, every living thing uses some form of magic.” Callum still looked a little doubtful, so Raed added, “You’ll see soon enough, come on.”

With that minimal explanation, Raed left the room to head downstairs. Callum followed him, half-wondering at his sanity and half-frightened that he was about to be made a fool of. At the bottom of the stairs, Raed turned to Callum and said again, “Don’t say anything.”

“I won’t.”

Raed grunted at that, seemingly disbelieving, but he led Callum out into the coffee shop without protest. Except, Callum noted with surprise, it wasn’t a coffee shop anymore. The room was the same shape with similar furnishings, but it was now a somewhat seedy bar with equally seedy patrons. The bartender nodded to them in acknowledgement as they went out the door. Raed led Callum outdoors where Callum immediately noted the biggest difference between his world and this other one, apparently the sky here was _red_. The color of the sky didn’t seem to color the actual surroundings, the same as the blue sky from Callum’s world. But it was still completely mesmerizing.

“Holy shit,” Callum exclaimed. Raed glared at him which instantly cut off any further expletives. “Sorry.” Raed didn’t respond, and Callum understood the leniency. He didn’t expect any more.

Raed had already left him behind in favor of getting into a van marked _Lucky Strike’s Catering_. He got in on the driver’s side, so Callum slid in as a passenger. “What exactly are we doing here?”

“Delivery.”

Callum fought a wave of annoyance at the repetition of that term. “I _know_ , but it’s not exactly like we’re delivering a pizza here.”

Raed turned the key in the ignition. “We could be; it’s not our job to question those sorts of things.”

“So all we have to do is deliver some mysterious package and then go back home?”

Raed stared straight ahead. “It’s not always that simple.”

“What does _that_ mean?” Callum asked. Of course, Raed didn’t answer. After a moment Callum said, “I feel like I should be more surprised about magic apparently existing, not to mention the reality of a completely other world,” Raed didn’t say anything, but he seemed to be listening, “Then again, I do watch a lot of fantasy movies.”

Raed scoffed, “This isn’t like a movie.”

They drove through the city Callum thought he knew by heart. Though many of the buildings were of a similar size and shape, their design and use tended to be different. In 30 minutes they drove past at least 3 buildings designated with signs saying “Fortune Telling”. Callum wondered if they were legitimate. If it was true that magic exists here… Before Callum could finish the thought, Raed stopped. They had arrived a few miles outside of the city. Where before there were suburbs, now there were simply fields and trees. Raed stopped in front of the first sign of human construction they had seen outside of the city. It was a gate, tall and imposing, giving way into the forest. Whatever it was made of shined with a slickness that reminded Callum of a cockroach. The closer they got to it, the more that feeling of sliminess intensified.

Finally, Callum said, “Maybe we shouldn’t go through there.”

Raed gave an amused snort, “A little Repulsion Spell has you ready to turn tail already? You’re really not cut out for the job.”

Callum shook his head, “No, I was just surprised, that’s all. I can handle it.”

Raed went to the gate but Callum couldn’t bring himself to follow for more than a few steps. Raed muttered something at the door and then pulled out a small package in a smooth white box from nowhere. It looked as though he had unzipped a pocket from empty space.

“That’s handy.” Raed ignored the comment.

After a moment, the disgusting pressure from the gate disappeared and Callum’s entire body relaxed. He hadn’t even realized how tense he had gotten. Raed walked through the gate with little hesitation, but Callum was struck by the thought: if just the gate was already impossible for him to overcome, maybe he really _couldn’t_ do this. Then, Raed turned with an expectant look on his face and Callum’s choice was made for him. He followed Raed into the unknown.


End file.
